Wednesday, March 14, 2012

To Palestine

Dear Laila kindly provided a translation of my Al Akhbar article

To Palestine

This time each year, preparations begin to commemorate Land Day in Palestine. This day has a special place in the hearts of lovers of land and Palestine. On 30 March 1976, the Zionist occupation forces confiscated thousands of dunums out of the little land left in the hands of Palestinian farmers. On that day, Palestinians rose to support the farmers and demonstrations and strikes took place in all areas. But it was no use, the occupation forces violently crushed the demonstrations and hundreds of people were left dead or wounded.

Thus, the occupation forces carried on with their colonialist project. To this day, they are still stealing land from the Palestinians, from the West Bank to the Naqab desert. What is happening now in Jerusalem, the capital of Palestine, where the houses of Arabs are demolished and its historical and cultural places destroyed, is an attempt to carry on with the project to wipe away Jerusalem and Palestine’s Arab identity.

Because of this, and because Jerusalem is the capital city of the free all over the world, a symbol of stolen land, a group of Palestinian and international activists have decided to organise a massive non-violent demonstration. It will march towards Jerusalem to express their rejection of the systematic ethnic cleansing practiced by the Zionist authorities and their support for the Palestinian cause.

On the 30th of this month, hundreds of thousands of activists will head to Palestine and the surrounding countries where the flag of Palestine and the flag of the hosting nation will be raised in the face of the enemy. The plan is supported by international personalities, such as Desmond Tutu and Mairead Maguire, both Nobel peace prize winners, along with a large number of Arab and Western writers, artists and politicians.

The message to the occupier will be simple: We will not abandon the land. We will not forget Jerusalem. The colonialist project which seeks to uproot the people of Palestine from their land will not succeed. Jerusalem belongs to us, the free of the world.